Katy Perry Transforms Into Marine For New Video

Stop The Presses!

Wendy GellerMarch 22, 2012

Katy Perry is best known for her ultra-sweet style--ranging from easter-egg-colored hair to dresses made out of candy--but she turns this trademark on its ear with the new video for her latest single "Part Of Me."

In the clip, Perry reacts to a cheating boyfriend in a swift and impulsive manner: She transforms herself completely...into an iron-tough, masculine Marine.

Perry's metamorphosis into character is rapid and dramatic, starting with hacking all her hair off in a gas station bathroom and tossing it into the toilet. She then binds her chest, trades her sundress for an androgynous drab hoodie, and accepts a backpack and fatigues from a Marine recruiter.

And that's where the real fun starts. Perry reportedly trained with boot-camp instructors to ready herself for the video, which stars a cast of real Marines and puts the singer through real military exercises.

The result? Perry, arguably one of the girliest girls in entertainment these days, puts up a surprisingly convincing hard front as she shoots a gun, wrestles soldiers, crawls under barbed wire, and scrambles up ropes.

The video ends with a striking closeup of Perry, makeup-free except for camouflage face paint, staring down the camera. It's a remarkable way to make her point that no ex will ever break her spirit or her strength--and, it's sure to be a hit with the girl-power set this year.

Rumors are bubbling, of course, that Perry wrote the tune about her ex-husband Russell Brand. However, Perry told MTV she wrote the song a couple of years ago, which would put it outside of the Brand period.

Regardless of who originally inspired the tune, Perry finds herself inspired now by the strength and skills of our men and women in uniform. "I have SO MUCH respect for anyone serving any role in the service after this shoot," she tweeted on Wednesday.